Green with Evil
"Green with Evil" is the five-part miniseries of the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The miniseries was aired in the week of October 5-9, 1993 on Fox Kids, becoming a ratings hit and was praised by critics. It has been considered by fans as the series' magnus opus. Plot Part I: Out of Control At the Angel Grove Karate Tournament, a new kid Tommy shows off his awesome moves. Rita is impressed by Tommy's skills and plans to use the sixth Power Coin to make him her evil Green Ranger. Jason and Tommy face off in the karate tournament. It ends in a tie. Tommy catches the eye of Kimberly and she hopes to get the chance to meet him. The next day at school, Tommy shows up when Bulk and Skull are pestering Kimberly and he scares them off with his karate skills. Tommy introduces himself to Kimberly and she invites him to hang out later with her and the others. Rita plans to test Tommy by putting him up against the Putties. Tommy is ambused by the Putties, but manages to take them all on. Satisfied with Tommy's skills, Rita uses her magic want to capture him. Rita casts a spell on Tommy to put him under her evil spell. Tommy is given the sixth Power Coin to become the evil Green Ranger. The Green Ranger uses his Power Coin to enter the Command Center without being detected. Zordon confronts the Green Ranger as Tommy and insists that Rita is using him. The Green Ranger damages the consoles and Alpha 5's circuitry. Zordon's connection to this dimension is severed by the damages. The Rangers are contacted by a distorted Alpha 5. With communication and teleportation down, the Rangers use the Radbug to reach the Command Center. The Rangers are shocked by all the damage to the Command Center. The Rangers are alerted to trouble on the viewing globe. A giant Goldar is wreaking havoc in the mountains. The Power Rangers defeat some Putties and form the Megazord to combat Goldar. Inside the Megazord cockpit, the Green Ranger appears and knocks the Rangers to the ground. The Green Ranger owns all five of the Power Rangers. The Green Ranger sends a powerful blast and defeats the Power Rangers. The Rangers return defeated to the Command Center looking for answers, but Alpha doesn't have them. The Green Ranger appears on the viewing globe promising the destruction of the Power Rangers. Part II: Jason's Battle At the Command Center, the Rangers work hard to get things back in order. Rita commands Finster to summon the Sword of Darkness to control the Green Ranger permanently. Tommy runs into Bulk and Skull in the alley who are upset that he made fools out of them at school. Tommy uses his Power Coin to make his eyes glow green and shoot lasers out of them. As Bulk and Skull run away, they end up head first in a dumpster. Tommy tosses his Power Coin in the air as it flashes green. The next day at school, Kimberly wonders why Tommy never showed up at the Youth Center. Tommy gets in Kimberly's face and tells her she's not the center of everyone's universe. PWNED! Rita and her henchmen show up on Earth to present Tommy with the Sword of Darkness. First Tommy must prove himself against the Putties. Tommy owns the Putties. Tommy is presented with the Sword of Darkness. At school, Jason tells Tommy that he has to cancel their workout. Tommy comments that he understands. When Jason turns his back, Tommy uses his Power Coin to teleport Jason to another dimension. Jason soon finds himself all alone in a Dark Dimension. He soon finds himself confronted by Goldar. As Jason goes for his Power Morpher, he realizes that Goldar has gotten his hands on it. As the other Rangers try to find Jason, they are alerted to more trouble. Goldar taunts Jason as he is even unable to contact the other Rangers. The Green Ranger appears on the viewing globe in the Command Center wanting to finish the Power Rangers. The Green Ranger takes down the four remaining Rangers with ease. The Green Ranger uses his Sword of Darkness against the other Rangers. However this time, the Rangers somehow form the Megazord to reflect his attack. The Green Ranger then swears that they haven't seen the last of him. Meanwhile, the other Rangers try to bring back Zordon and during a short but staticy transmission, Zordon says they must defeat the Green Ranger. Meanwhile, Goldar says he's finished toying with Jason and it's time to put an end to his life. Part III: The Rescue Rita Repulsa calls upon an old friend. Rita calls forth the evil Scorpina. Meanwhile the Rangers try with no luck to bring back Zordon. In the Dark Dimension, Goldar prepares to finish off Jason once and for all. At the Youth Center, Kimberly once again gets the cold shoulder from Tommy who claims that Jason never showed to meet with him. As Zack comes in, Tommy blows passed him with an attitude as well. Zack is sure that Jason went to school to meet with Tommy. Rita watches as Zack and Kimberly chase after Tommy to confront him. Tommy walks ahead as the others are attacked. Rita sends the Putties to distract Kimberly and Zack. After defeating the Putties, Kimberly and Zack notice that Tommy is gone, but Putties never went after him. The Green Ranger shows up in the Dark Dimension to relieve Goldar of destroying Jason. Jason tries to talk some sense into the Green Ranger, but he assures him that he is truly evil. Scorpina arrives at the Moon Palace and it appears if she has history with Goldar. Billy is finally able to locate Jason and needs a few minutes to get a lock on him. The Green Ranger is ready to crush Jason with the Sword of Darkness. Jason is teleported to the Command Center just in time. Goldar punishes the Green Ranger for letting Jason escape by leaving him in the Dark Dimension. The other Rangers welcome Jason back to the team, but he hasn't learned anything new about the Green Ranger. They are alerted to Scorpina's presence via the viewing globe. The Power Rangers morph into action to battle Scorpina. The Red Ranger faces off with Scorpina as the others are confronted by the Putties. Goldar pulls Scorpina out of battle, because he doesn't believe she has what it takes on to defeat them alone. The Green Ranger vows to prove himself by destroying the Power Rangers once and for all. The Rangers try deperately to bring back Zordon, but can't sustain a lock. They are soon alerted to Goldar trashing Angel Grove on the viewing globe. The Rangers wonder if this is a trap, but agree that they don't have any other options but to fight. Part IV: Eclipsing Megazord The Rangers watch as Goldar attacks downtown Angel Grove. The Rangers try to morph, but they just short out the Morphing Grid. Rita watches in enjoyment as Goldar trashes the city in order to lure the Rangers out. Rita reveals her plan to cause an eclipse to block out the sun, since the Megazord uses solar power. Meanwhile in the Dark Dimension, the Green Ranger trains to bring down the Power Rangers. Billy finally gets the Command Center back online. The Rangers morph into action just in time to encounter Scorpina who gives them a beat down. Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull try to flee in a bus since the city is under attack. They try to escape in the bus, but Goldar gets to them before they are able to. As Alpha is on the brink of bringing back Zordon, the Green Ranger appears to finish what he started. The Rangers teleport to the beach to find Rita and Scorpina plotting from above. Up on the cliff, the Putties are getting ready to push the bus over the edge if the Rangers make a move. As the Green Ranger once again gets rid of Zordon, Alpha catches him offguard and traps him in a forcefield. The Rangers form the Megazord just in time to catch the bus before it falls. The Megazord is ambushed by Goldar and Scorpina. Meanwhile, Rita causes an eclipse which drains the Megazord's solar power. Rita laughs diabolically as the Rangers get a beat down. The Megazord activates the Power Sword to give it an energy boost. But Rita uses her magic to release the Green Ranger from the forcefield. Rita makes the Green Ranger grow to take down the Megazord. Goldar, Scorpina, and the Green Ranger surround the Megazord. The Megazord is overwhelmed by the numerous attacks. The Megazord falls into a lava pit that Rita opens up with her wand. Fallen from their Megazord, the Rangers watch in horror as their Dinozords are lost to them. Later at the Command Center, Alpha informs the Rangers that the computer has identified the Green Ranger. The Rangers watch the viewing globe in shock as they discover the Green Ranger is Tommy. Part V: Breaking the Spell Rita Repulsa and her henchmen celebrate the defeat of the Power Rangers. Alpha 5 convinces the Rangers not to give up. At the Youth Center, the news report shows Goldar's recent attack on the city. Kimberly confronts Tommy about being the Green Ranger, but Tommy vows that he will destroy her and the others. Meanwhile, Rita calls forth the Dragonzord for the Green Ranger to command. The Dragonzord rises from the depths of Angel Grove lake. The Green Ranger stands on top of the Dragonzord and unleashes it on the city. The other Rangers are alerted to the attack and morph into action. The Rangers rush in to defend the city from the Dragonzord. The Green Ranger uses his new Dragon Dagger as a flute to control the Dragonzord remotely. Meanwhile, Alpha 5 finally brings back Zordon, who alerts the Rangers that they must destroy the Sword of Darkness to break the Rita's spell. Zordon activates the Rangers' Power Coins and revives the Dinozords. The Red Ranger confronts the Dragonzord with the Tyrannosaurus. The Rangers form the Megazord to take down the Dragonzord. The Megazord picks up the Dragonzord by its tail and tosses it into some mountains. The Red Ranger jumps to the ground to confront the Green Ranger. The Red Ranger catches the Green Ranger offguard. He uses his Blade Blaster to destroy the Sword of Darkness. Tommy is released from Rita's spell and Jason comes rushing to his side. "What have I done?" Tommy replies. Jason and the other Rangers convince Tommy to join them in the battle against evil. Zordon tells the Rangers to morph and call forth their Dinozords. All six Power Rangers are finally united. Zordon informs the Rangers to combine the Sabertoothed Tiger, Triceratops, and Mastodon with the Dragonzord to create the Dragonzord in Fighting Mode. Rita is enraged at yet another failure and that the Green Ranger has joined the side of good. Goldar promises they will all pay. Later at the Command Center, Zordon and other Rangers welcome Tommy to the team. All six Rangers put their hands together and jump into the air as they shout, "Power Rangers!" Production When the show was on pre-production in mid 1992, creator Haim Saban persuaded Toei to do a permanent Sixth Ranger character for their Sentai series Zyuranger. The result was a success in Japan, as it helped Toei to have an additional Ranger for every series after that. Production for "Green with Evil" occured in July 1993 after production for "Switching Places" ended. Prior to the series, the producers originally envisioned the Green Ranger as a rival to Jason. However, it was later changed from the character as an antihero to a hero after Jason David Frank was casted as Tommy. Due to heavy use of the Sentai footage, new footage involving Rita and Scorpina was shot exclusively for the series. It was shot in Japan in order to match lip movements with the voices provided. The footage, would later be referred as "Zyu1.5", predating the original Sentai footage exclusively for the series, dubbed "Zyu2". Reception Reception of the five-part serial was mostly positive by critics and fans. The episodes became the highest-rated episodes of the series at the time. Trivia *The first appearance of Ranger Tommy Oliver, Dragonzord and Scorpina. *The first use of a Ranger growing into a Megazord-sized giant when the Green Ranger grew himself into a gigantic size. The use isn't used until the end of Zeo, when the Rangers grew themselves. *First known American footage of Rita Repulsa.